Authors@Google: Bill Murphy Jr.

Bill Murphy Jr. visits Google’s Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book “In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point’s Class of 2002.” This event took place on November 20, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series.

They came to West Point in a time of peace, but soon after the start of their senior year, their lives were transformed by September 11. In a Time of War focuses on two members of the class of 2002: Todd Bryant, an amiable, funny Californian for whom military service was a family tradition; and Drew Sloan, the hardworking son of liberal parents from Arkansas who is determined to serve his country. On the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, Todd, Drew, and their classmates—the armys newest and youngest officers—lead their troops into harms way again and again.

Meticulously reported, sweeping in scope, Bill Murphy Jr.s powerful book follows these brave and idealistic officers—and their families—as they experience the harrowing reality of the modern battlefield. In a Time of War tells a vivid and sometimes heartbreaking story about courage, honor, and what war really means to the soldiers whose lives it defines. More at http://www.inatimeofwar.com

Bill Murphy Jr. worked as Bob Woodwards research assistant on the bestselling State of Denial. A lawyer and former Army Reserve officer, he reported from Iraq for The Washington Post in 2007. He lives in Washington, D.C.